Washington banned thin, single-use plastic shopping bags in 2021. But since then, the state has seen an increase in plastics used for retail transactions. That鈥檚 due to a loophole allowing thicker plastic bags. A proposal to fix this will go before lawmakers in January.聽The legislation was pre-filed in the House and Senate last month, and the first hearings are scheduled for Jan. 14 and 15.
When the statewide ban on the disposable plastic bags passed in 2020, the thicker bags were to be made with increasing amounts of recycled plastics 鈥� part of a compromise to continue allowing plastic bags. By law they must be designed to last for a minimum of 125 uses. But utilities monitoring the flow of plastics through the waste stream say that more often, they鈥檙e thrown away like disposables.
For communities that enthusiastically passed plastic bag bans in the 2000s, this proliferation has been confusing.聽聽鈥淔or Seattle, this meant a complete resurgence in plastic bags in stores. And on top of that, the bags are now four times thicker than the previous thin plastic bags,鈥� said Maggie Yuse, a legislative liaison for Seattle Public Utilities.